The Bob Stitt era opened with a win that sent shockwaves through the Treasure State. Now his Montana Grizzlies must, in his words, get their feet back on the ground. Quite literally.
On Saturday, the Cal Poly Mustangs and their vaunted triple-option attack open up their season at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The venue rocked in the opener with a record crowd of more than 26,000 last weekend as Montana came from behind to upset No. 1 North Dakota State, the four-time reigning FCS national champions.
Bob Stitt NDSU post game
“Winning that game was a great win for our program but for us as coaches, we didn’t know how we would matchup on our schedule against anybody, much less the No. 1 team in the country so it was great to get on the field,” said Stitt, a 51-year-old who spent the last 15 seasons at Division II Colorado School of Mines. “The kids really executed well and gave us a chance to win it late. We are excited to get back on the field. We have to bring our feet back down on the ground and get back to work.”
Stitt’s vaunted yet largely unknown offense made a debut to remember against the Bison. In his first start, junior quarterback Brady Gustafson threw for 434 yards and three touchdowns as Montana ran 92 plays and amassed 544 yards in the 38-35 victory. Now Stitt’s up-tempo, spread attack will face Cal Poly’s aggressive, sideline-to-sideline defense that has several question marks after the graduation of All-America linebackers Nick Dzubnar and Cameron Ontko.
“As a cornerback, I know I have to get lined back up and get the next play call no matter what,” said CP senior cornerback Karlton Dennis when asked about facing an offense that threw 55 passes last week. “As long as we can move fast and get the play called, I don’t worry about speed of offenses. We practice at a very high speed ourselves and our offense is a no-huddle offense as well so we’ve been getting looks.”
Dennis and senior cornerback Chris Fletcher return to a unit that is working in new starters at safety in sophomore Kevin Griffin and junior B.J. Nard. At linebacker, Junior Joseph Gigantino, senior Tu’uta Inoke and senior Burton De Koning are looking to replace the production of Dzubnar, the Big Sky’s leading tackler in 2014 and now a San Diego Charger, and Ontko, now a member of the Calgary Stampede. Up front, junior end Josh Letuligasenoa and junior tackle Marcus Paige-Allen will be the anchors.
“Every other team we play is running the no huddle so you have to be prepared all season long for it,” Dennis said. “The traditional non-no-huddle teams have the ability of going no-huddle so you have to be ready for just about anything. Playing in the Big Sky has prepared us for this.”
Cal Poly
Cal Poly’s best defense on Saturday might be its dominant offense. A season ago, the Mustangs set a Big Sky Conference record by rushing for 4,221 yards, the best total in the nation. Senior quarterback Chris Brown set a Big Sky record for rushing yards in a single season by a quarterback by rushing for 1,285 yards and 17 touchdowns.
“Cal Poly is a very difficult team to prepare for because they’ve basically got two offenses: the triple-option and the spread, so our defensive coaches have their hands full,” Stitt said.
“It’s assignment football. The true wishbone is different than what North Dakota State or anyone else runs.”
While Brown might be the most important offensive cog in the league, it’s a misnomer that eliminating him will stall Cal Poly’s offense. He’s the catalyst and the maestro but if he makes the correct reads consistently, he could rush for a minimal total and Cal Poly could still dominate the ball and the clock.
Kori Garcia returns after a second-team All-Big Sky sophomore season that saw him rush for more than 1,100 yards. He’s CP’s best big-play threat out of the backfield. Sophomore Joe Protheroe steps in for Brandon Howe, a bruising fullback who rushed for almost 1,000 yards last season. Brown said Protheroe is faster and more talented than his predecessor. On the outside, senior Roland Jackson returns again to provide a speed threat and senior Willie Tucker, a player who averaged more than 20 yards per catch in 2013, is back after missing last season with a knee injury.
The offensive line will be a key factor in the game, especially considering CP can rotate players seamlessly like its defensive counterparts. Seniors center Stephen Sippel and right tackle Weston Walker are the rocks and will likely play the duration. Junior tackle Matt Fisher, sophomore guard Nick Enriquez, sophomore guard Joey Kuperman, junior Calvin Sandeen and junior Billy Shipman will all rotate and come at Montana in waves, using their speed and fearlessness while cut blocking to provide an advantage.
“I’m excited because we actually have some experience and depth at the offensive line, which is something we haven’t had in awhile. We can come in waves like a defensive line,” Brown said. “One thing we harp on all the time is ball protection and keeping the ball in our hands. As long as we limit turnovers and bad plays and mess ups and holding calls, we’ll be able to keep the clock going and keep them on the sidelines.”
Caleb Kidder vs NDSU
Montana counters with a front seven that looked fierce against NDSU but that will be missing stud defensive tackle Caleb Kidder. The junior out of Helena Capital suffered a deep leg bruise as a result of a helmet to the leg, an injury that developed into compartment syndrome and required surgery. He’ll miss two to four weeks.
Without Kidder, tackles Nate Bradley, Jamal Wilson and Zach Peevey will have to hold down the middle in front of senior middle linebacker Jeremiah Kose. Seniors Tyrone Holmes and Derek Crittenden provide explosiveness on the ends. Senior Kendrick Van Ackeren will be a key from his outside linebacker spot expected to use his speed to contain the explosive Garcia or any other wing or slot back. Senior outside linebacker Herbert Gamboa returns after a Week 1 suspension but it remains to be seen how much he plays.
The matchup in Missoula provided the opportunity for redemption for Montana. For a brief stretch last October, Cal Poly looked like the cream of the Big Sky Conference crop. Behind more than 200 yards rushing from Brown, the Mustangs dismantled No. 6 Montana in San Luis Obispo, posting a 41-21 win. The next week, the Mustangs held the ball for more than 12 minutes in the fourth quarter to pull out a 35-27 win over No. 8 Montana State.
“We try to not reminisce on past years,” said Brown, who totaled 323 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns in the two wins. “We really try to focus on what’s going on this year. We want to play with extreme confidence every game so in reference to this Montana game, we will treat it like a new team, go out there and compete as hard as we can.”
Saturday’s matchup will be played under the Washington-Grizzly lights and a sellout crowd is expected. Stitt emphasized all week not letting his team have a letdown. The debut of his offense surprised some but others wondered if he let it all hang out too much for a first showing. He said not to worry: the Griz offense will evolve each week. On Saturday, they just have to find a way to make sure to possess the ball.
“We are going to matchup ok against everybody but what we don’t necessarily matchup against is their offense because their offense eats up the clock,” Stitt said. “That’s their best defense. Our defense has to get off the field in order to be effective. You worry about them grinding out eight or nine minutes of the clock after you just had a good drive. I like our matchup personnel wise against those guys but we have to do the job on the defensive side or our offense isn’t going to be very effective.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
